Colton Dixon

The Christian rock singer Colton Dixon rose to fame after participating in the eleventh season of the reality show American Idol, then followed his appearance on the show with a Dove Award-winning solo career. Born on October 19, 1991, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, he unsuccessfully auditioned for American Idol in 2011, then placed seventh on the show's subsequent season in 2012. Colton Dixon released his studio debut, A Messenger, one year later via Sparrow Records. The album debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200 and soared to the top of the US Christian and Gospel charts, selling 22,000 copies in its first week. It was named "Best Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year" at the GMA Dove Awards later that year. 2014's Anchor, his follow-up album, received the same award. Colton remained a popular name in the CCM world with albums like The Calm Before the Storm (2015), Identity (2017), and his self-titled Colton Dixon EP (2020), but he didn't reach Number 1 on the singles charts until 2022, when "Build a Boat" rose to the top of the Hot Christian Songs, Christian Airplay, Christian AC Songs, and Christian Digital Song Sales charts. The song appeared on his fifth solo album, Canvas, which was released in early 2023.